The maintenance of physical fitness has become important to many people in the last several years. Numerous exercise devices have been introduced in response to the demands of such people. Such devices include stationary jogging machines or treadmills, exercycles, stationary rowing machines, machines which simulate crosscountry skiing and other similar devices. All of these devices take up significant room in use and in storage. Many of these devices cannot be easily moved once set up for use and require extensive disassembly should one wish to store the device.
Many of the devices referred to above, such as exercycles, support the user above the floor. These devices are often used vigorously. If these devices are improperly assembled or positioned, the user may fall or injure himself through contact with adjacent surfaces or objects.
The devices described require space permanently dedicated to them where they can be stably erected and used without danger of the user encountering adjacent furniture or the like during exercise. Such devices were, heretofore, inappropriate for hotel rooms where space was at a premium.
In the past, hotels have met the demands of patrons for exercise facilities by providing a central exercise facility or spa. Weight lifting equipment, exercise equipment, and some sport recreational facilities were provided in the hotel for patrons. In some instances, professional staff was provided because of the potential hazard to untrained personnel presented by sophisticated exercise devices. These exercise facilities did not normally generate sufficient revenue to pay their costs. Moreover, such facilities occupied space which could otherwise be used for guest rooms.
In a heretofore unrelated area, hotels and others have used folding beds and tiltable beds to create dual purpose rooms. Thus, beds which fold into a sofa have long been used to convert a bedroom into a sitting room. Beds built into a wall or large cabinet and tiltable into the wall or cabinet have been used by hotels to allow the conversion of a sleeping room into a room usable for other purposes. Such tilting beds required more room than conventional stationary beds and provided no storage room when not in use. To applicant's knowledge, no such arrangement has ever been used to provide a combined exercise station and sleeping area.